Tube extracting device



April 26, 1949. R. w. CLARK TUBE EXTRACTING DEVI CE Filed Nov. 29, 1944 ROBE/er l V CLARK A TTORNEY Patented Apr. 26, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TUBE EXTRACTING DEVICE Robert W. illarlr, Port Washington, N. Y., assignor to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware 8 Claims.

The present invention relates to an instrument for quickly and easily removing from its socket a device such as an electronic discharge tube.

In designing radio sets and other electronic assemblies, it is often necessary to position one or more sockets so that the particular tube, transformer, or other circuit component receivable therein is not conveniently accessible by hand in the event that its removal is desired for purposes of inspection or replacement. Furthermore, in the case of a tube or other member which be comes heated during operation of the assembly, it cannot be removed by hand until after a cooling period regardless of its location.

The principal object of the present invention, therefore, is the provision of an instrument for removing from its socket a circuit element which cannot be conveniently removed by hand.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an extracting tool which may be slipped over a tube or other plugged-in device, the tool then being subjected to a manual squeezing action which causes it to grip the plugged-in device in such a manner that the latter may be withdrawn from its socket by a simple pulling movement of the tool.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an instrument which may be employed to remove from its socket a tube which is held therein by a snap clip or other resilient retaining means lockably engaging a flange on the tube.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of preferred forms of the invention and from the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view in elevation of a preferred form of extracting tool in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a side view in elevation of a modification of the extracting tool of Fig. 1, also showing one form of device with which the modified extracting tool may be employed;

Fig. 5 is an end view of a portion of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view of a portion of Fig. 4 showing the method of operation of the extracting tool; and

Fig. 7 is a modification of Fig. 5.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, there is shown an extracting tool including a hollow cylindrical member l6, such for example as a section of metal tubing, which has cut out therefrom two diametrically-opposed longitudinal openings i2 and it. lhese openings i2 and I4 extend for nearly the entire length of the member l6, leaving only a small uncut portion it at one end thereof, and, except for the end portion it, effectively transform the tubular member Hi into two oppositely-disposed arcuate strips 58 and 26.

At the opposite end of arcuate strips l8 and 26 from the uncut portion I6 is a ring-shaped member 22 which has its inner surface soldered or otherwise securely afiixed to the outer surface of the strips. The inner diameter of ring-shaped member 22 is slightly greater than the outer diameter of the uncut end i 6, so that the strips [8 and 26 taper outwardly to a slight extent from end l6 toward the ring member 22.

An alternative construction to the above would comprise two ring-shaped members of different internal diameters respectively secured to the ends of two oppositely-disposed arcuate strips. Such a construction would eliminate the necessity of utilizing a tubular member, as flat strips could be employed which have been bent into arcuate shape.

Slidably carried by the arcuate strip 20 is a clutch element 24. This sliding clutch element 26 may comprise a single sheet of metal which is shaped approximately to fit the curvature of the arcuate strip 20, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. A member 26 of suitable thickness, also shown in Figs. 2 and 3, is securely afiixed in surface-to-surface relation to the mid-portion of the clutch element 24, and as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 may lie between such mid-portion and the concave inner surface of the arcuate strip 20. The combined thickness of elements 24 and 26 acts to prevent excessive distortion of the arcuate strips [8 and 26 when the clutch element 24 is brought into engagement with the device being extracted, as will now be described.

In operation, the clutch element 24 is slid along strip 2% to one end of the extracting tool. Either end may be used, depending upon the dimensions of the tube or other circuit element to be extracted. The end of the tool to which the clutch element 24 has been moved is then slipped over the tube as far as it will go, and the arcuate strips 58 and 26 are squeezed together. This causes the clutch element 24 and arcuate strip 8 to be brought into frictional engagement with the tube, and if the squeezing pressure is sufiicient the tube ma be easily removed from its socket by a simple pulling or lifting movement of the tool.

The extracting tool is, of course, constructed so that its dimensions are suitable for the particular circuit elements, such as tubes, plug-in resistors, condensers, and th like, with which it is to be used, the internal diameter of each end of the tool, including the clutch 2 being slightly greater than the external diameter of the element to be extracted by that end. For example, if the internal diameter of end If is 1%, and if clutch element 2d projects radially inward for a distance of from the inner surface of member til, then that end of the extracting tool may be employed to remove from its socket a metal tube with an M8 shell, such as the RCA 6AC7.

In the event that a particular circuit component would be accommodated by either end of the tool except for the restriction offered by the clutch 24, the latter may be slid to the far end of the tool and the ring i6 01 the ring 22 slipped over the circuit element so that both strips l3 and are in direct contact therewith. Furthermore, if the inner surface of arcuate strip I8 near the end I6 is coated with a substance that has a relatively high coefficient of friction, such for example as that material known commercially as flock, then that end becomes more suitable for extracting devices that have a glass envelope or other smooth surface. The inner, or article-contacting, surface of clutch element 2 1 may likewise be coated with such a substance so as to provide a more positive gripping action.

Occasionally, however, tubes are provided with a flanged base, and snap clips or other resilient means which are mounted on the chassis engage the flange to lock the tube in position. A modification of the extracting tool of Figs. 1 to 3 so as to permit removal of tubes which are locked in place in this manner is shown in Figs. 4 to 6.

Fig. 4 shows a tube 28 the base of which is provided with a flange 29. A pair of snap clips 30 mounted on chassis 32 engage flange to lock tube 28 in position. Secured to the end of the extracting tool being utilized, such as the end it, are two oppositely-disposed tabular projections 33, shown also in Fig. 5. These tabular projections 33 have sufliciently large radial dimensions that when the extracting tool is pushed down over tube 28, the tabular projections 33 force the clips outwardly, disengaging them from the flange 29 as shown in Fig. 6, and allowing the tube to be lifted out of its socket in the manner described above in connection with Figs. 1 to 3.

If desired, a ring 3c such as shown in Fig. 7 may be employed in place of the tabular projections 33, this ring 3% being secured to either end of the extracting tool and having an outer diameter slightly 1arger than the flange 2d. The ring 34 may also comprise merely an integral radial extension of that particular end of the tool. Operation of the modification shown in Fig. '7 is similar in all respects to that of the device of Figs. 4 to 6, except that the necessity of lining up the tabular projections 33 with the clips 38 is eliminated.

While I have described above an extracting tool which is suitable for use with circuit elements of various diameters, it will be understood that when a tool of this type is designed especially for use with a single device or a number of devices having similar diameters, or in other words when only the uncut end It of the tool is to be used, then it is unnecessary to encircle the slotted end of the tool with the ring-shaped member 22 and this latter member may be omitted.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, a tubular member having a plurality of cut-out portions extending longitudinally thereof to one end of said member, said cut-out portions dividing said tubular member into a plurality of strips, an article-engaging member carried by one of said strips, said article-engaging member being slidable along said one strip toward either end of said tubular member, and a ring-shaped element encircling said strips at said one end of said tubular member, said ring-shaped element having an inner diameter greater than the outer diameter of said arcuate tubular member, and means securing the inner surface of said ring-shaped element to the outer surface of said strips.

2. In a tool for extracting from its socket a device of substantially annular cross-section, the combination of a hollow substantially cylindrical member having an internal diameter slightly larger than the external diameter of said device, said hollow cylindrical member having a plurality of linear axial slots formed therein extending from one end of said member to a point near the other end of said member, a ring-shaped element having an internal diameter greater than the external diameter of said hollow cylindrical member encircling said member at the slotted end thereof, said ring-shaped element having its inner surface secured to the outer surface of said slotted cylindrical member so that the latter tapers outwardly toward the ringencircled end thereof, and clutch means slidably mounted on one of the longitudinal sections of said cylindrical member formed by said slots, whereby, when the end of said hollow cylindrical member including said clutch means is slipped over said device, a radial inward pressure on the longitudinal sections of said cylindrical member will cause said clutch means to frictionally engage said device.

3. A tool according to claim 2 for extracting from its socket a device of annular cross-section having a flange thereon which is lockabl engaged by one or more spring clips, further comprising one or more tabular projections mounted on one end of said cylindrical member and positioned for respective contact with said spring clips when the end of said cylindrical member mounting said tabular projections is slipped over said device.

4. A tool according to claim 2 for extracting from its socket a device of annular cross-section having a flange thereon which is lockably engaged by one Or more spring clips, further comprising a ring-shaped projection mounted on one end of said cylindrical member, said projection having an outer diameter greater than the outer diameter of the flange on said device and being positioned for contact with said spring clips when the end of said cylindrical member mounting said ring-shaped projection is slipped over said device.

5. In a device of the class described, a pair of spaced-apart oppositely-disposed arcuate strips arranged to outline in cross-section two se ments of a circle, a pair of ring-shaped members of different internal diameters respectively secured to the ends of said arcuate strips, and an article-engaging element carried by one of said arcuate strips, said article-engaging element being slidable along said one arcuate strip toward either ring-shaped member.

6. In a device of the class described, a plurality of strips of material arranged in spaced-apart relation so that the longitudinal axes of said strips are inclined toward each other, a pair of positioning members, said positioning members respectively rigidly securing in spaced-apart rea lation the adjacent ends of said strips, and an article-engaging element carried by one of said strips, said article-engaging element being slidable along said one strip toward either of said positioning members.

7. In an instrument for selectively extractin substantially cylindrical plugged-in devices havm difierent external diameters, the combination of a pair of spaced-apart oppositely-disposed arcuate strips arranged to outline in crosssection two segments of a circle, a ring-shaped member, means securing said ring-shaped member to the adjacent ends of said pair of arcuate strips, whereby said ring-shaped member may be slipped over a substantially cylindrical plugged-in device which has an external diameter smaller than the internal diameter of said ring-shaped member, a second ring-shaped member having an internal diameter larger than the internal diameter of said first-mentioned ring-shaped member, and means securing said second ring-shaped member to the other adjacent ends of said pair of arcuate strips, whereby said second ring-shaped member may be slipped over a, substantially cylindrical pluggedin device having an external diameter larger than th internal diameter of said first-mentioned REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 241,756 Tim-berlake May 17, 1881 832,503 Renner Oct. 2, 1906 2,294,542 Chulik Sept. 1, 1942 2,320,043 Merkle May 25, 1943 2,322,220 Casselberry June 22, 1943 

